From an old post by Roy Smalley:1959 push rod cars may have, not always, bumpers and mounts with numbers. Personally having disassembled many 356's I have not seen bumpers and or mounts numbered except on Convertible D's.....6 in fact. If anyone has seen others, I would like to hear about them.
Generally hinge post covers are numbered. Normally, D and Roadster windshield assemblies have two or three of the VIN, probably because they are specific car built, as are most open car folding tops. Not always.
The view to the general early 356/911 interested, numbers matching has expanded recently to include reference to parts that have a date stamp. To a few it has always been paramount. Wheels for example. "Numbers matching" wheels, generally denote a date prior to the assembly date, sometimes months, and 'matching' brands. Wheels are among the first casualties on 356's, and if someone has solid information that all wheels on a specific car were exactly date/manufactured matched, I would also like to hear about that.
Of course the "list" folks find important with date stamps literally includes all bolt on parts with a few exceptions. Recliners, regulators, carbs, distributors, glass (good luck on that), electrical components and so forth, and to them equal to "numbers matching" in importance. And brands, bolts.
And sometimes on an original car, panels were not numbered; some had wrong numbers. And I bet there was a lot of variation in the factory on "date" matching..........
Remember "HAND BUILT", by humans. That probably had a few at lunch.
Roy Smalley, conservator
http://www.eurowerks.com
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Roy Smalley
Texas